Saturday, 6 October 2012

BREASTFEEDING PART 1

The World Health Organisation recommends that “babies are
fed only breastmilk for the first six months and that breastfeeding then be
continued as part of a mixed diet until the age of 2 years.”

Many women have decided by the time of booking which way
they will feed their baby. This does not mean that you cannot change your mind
when you know all the facts.

There are many benefits to breastfeeding both for the
baby and the mother and even most worries or concerns are unfounded. However,
breastfeeding can take patience and perseverance but is well worth it in the
end. And don’t forget you can ask your midwife or health visitor for help and
support in finding the correct technique.

We all know that ‘breast is best’ as it is specifically
produced by the mother for her own baby. It has the perfect combination of
fats, carbohydrates and proteins that your baby should need. This composition
of milk changes day by day and feed by feed.

Formula milk is made from cow’s milk which is produced
for baby calves, therefore this cannot be manufactured to completely meet your
babies needs especially the important components that offer your baby
protection and help your baby to grow.

When breastfeeding your baby, you do not have to
supplement with other fluids even in hot weather, as the composition of the
milk changes to provide your baby with the thirst quenching fluids it requires.
Only if you are advised by a health professional, should you give extra fluids.

If you have decided to breastfeed you should try to stick
with it, as just one formula feed given to a breastfeeding baby can sensitise
the gut to the proteins. This can cause intolerances and allergies to these
proteins. Formula milk changes the acid and bacteria levels which may take up
to a month to revert back to normal.

It is also safer to breastfeed as it is possible to
make-up and store formula feeds wrongly. (see previous blog onthestorage of formula milk) should be made up exactly how it says on the
carton as making the ratio of powder to water wrongly can be harmful to your
baby. It is impossible to make mistakes with the breastmilk your baby receives.

Breastmilk is also known to reduce the risk of developing
an infection. Antibodies help to fight infection and are passed on to your baby
through your breastmilk. This ensures that breastfed babies suffer less from
diarrhoea and vomiting. They also have fewer chest and ear infections and are less
likely to suffer constipation.

Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of cot death although the
reasons are not fully explained. There are also studies that report that
breastfed babies are more intelligent and had fewer behavioural problems than
their artificially fed counterparts. One study suggested that the longer the
child was breastfed, the greater the effect.

Bonding is a great benefit of breastfeeding. Skin to skin
at delivery makes your baby feel safe and secure, and the sooner the baby goes to
the breast after delivery the more beneficial to the baby it is. Your baby is
kept warm and its breathing, heartrate and blood sugars are regulated.

There is now plenty of evidence to suggest that
brestfeeding has numerous long term health advantages. Many health conditions
are less likely in adults who were breastfed. These include diabetes, asthma,
leukaemia, eczema high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity.

For maximum effect you should exclusively breastfeed your
baby for the first six months and continue until the child is one year old.
Mothers also benefit from breastfeeding. Health wise, women who have breast fed
one or more babies are less likely to suffer from breast cancer, ovarian
cancer, type II diabetes and postnatal depression.

It has also been suggested that it reduces the risk of
developing high blood pressure in later life, and as breastfeeding uses up to
500 calories per day, it makes it easier to lose weight. It is also extremely
convenient. No preparation of bottles, that should be made up and used
immediately; no getting out of bed in the middle of the night; you can do it
anywhere inside and out and its free!!

It’s not all plain sailing for some though, and many
women give up because they do not get the support they need in the early days. This
makes a huge difference to getting established and preventing problems such as
breast pain, poor milk supply and sore nipples.

Breastfeeding is time consuming and requires a lot of
commitment and perseverance. The newborn may want to feed every couple of hours
as they may only like very small amounts of breastmilk. This may continue
through the night as well as the day but it will improve as the baby gets older
as he/she will feed more quickly.

This ensures that more milk is produced as it works on a
supply and demand basis. You may also suffer from a blocked milk duct, a breast
abscess or mastitis – but I will go into more detail about these conditions in next
week’s blog.

Breastfeeding may take up to 4-6 weeks to fully
establish. Until this time, it is best to just offer the breast. Therefore, the
father will have to be involved in other aspects of care for the baby such as
bathing, holding and playing. Once breastfeeding is established, if the father
is keen to feed the baby you can express and give by bottle. To avoid ‘nipple
confusion’ it is also best not to introduce dummies until this
time. Also try not to give expressed breast milk too often as this may cause
your supply to diminish.

Many women often feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in
public places although it does now appear to becoming more acceptable. Many
places now offer more appropriate areas to breastfeed in comfort (not the
toilets!) but if you want to breast feed discreetly use a breastfeeding shawl.
Most people will not even notice that you are breastfeeding.

More information on breastfeeding and how to do it
successfully in next week’s blog.

Please feel free to ask any
questions relating to this any or any of my previous blogs. You can do this by
leaving a comment on this blog or contacting me through my " confidential
1 to 1 live web chat" at http://www.justbambinos.co.uk/

I will be available for online midwifery advice chats most evenings from 8pm
(GMT) so click on the icon on the home page to access the web chat and 'Ask the
Midwife'.
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2 comments:

I've successfully breastfed my daughter and was upset when she self weaned at 22 months. The bond you have is so strong and I loved every feed even through the bad times we had. I'm now due another baby in 5 weeks and looking forward to doing it all over again. Just thought I'd share a positive story to help any struggling mum's